₦airaland Forum

Federal Character Commission ‘Unaware’ Of Waiver For CBN 2015 Secret Recruitment
The Federal Character Commission says it is unaware of a waiver authorising the Central Bank of Nigeria to conduct a secret recruitment of hundreds of new employees, comprising dozens of family members of serving and past senior government officials, including President Muhammadu Buhari’s nephew.

BY PREMIUM TIMES
MAR 26, 2016

The Federal Character Commission says it is unaware of a waiver authorising the Central Bank of Nigeria to conduct a secret recruitment of hundreds of new employees, comprising dozens of family members of serving and past senior government officials, including President Muhammadu Buhari’s nephew.


CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele
The acting chairman of the Federal Character Commission, Shettima Abba, told PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday that following media reports and public outcry in response to the recruitment, the commission wrote to the CBN demanding its staff list from 2013 to 2015.

Mr. Abba said the response from the CBN would enable the Commission confirm whether the recruitment was done in accordance with the law. The bank has two weeks — up to next Tuesday — to respond to the letter, he said.

But the chairman said his office was not aware the CBN was granted any waiver to carry out the controversial recruitment, saying the last waiver to the bank was in 2013.

“Prior to my appointment, details from the file showed that by early part of 2013 CBN requested for waiver to enable them carry out recruitment of some professional staff, including doctors, nurses, mid-wives, engineers and lawyers, etc,” Mr. Abba said.

“For one reason or the other, they (CBN) did not conclude the recruitment before they wrote back to say they had suspended the recruitment, and that they would need to write again for re-validation. Towards the end of 2013, they wrote again for re-validation, which was granted.”

The chairman said available records confirmed that the recruitment was carried out, as candidates were invited for interview in three centres, including Abuja, Lagos and one other city, with the committee in charge of financial services at the Character Commission invited to monitor the exercise.

Mr. Abba said although the CBN indicated interest in 2015 to recruit a number of junior staff as money counters, drivers, cooks, clerks and so on, for all its 37 zones across the country, he was not aware of any fresh waiver granted since 2013.

“If an agency gets a waiver, it will lapse after three months if the recruitment process is not concluded. The agency has to write again for re-validation,” the chairman explained.

“In the records with the Commission, they (CBN) have several requests for waivers, but I cannot say how many. I don’t know whether there has been a new request from them in recent times. Since I came in, I only acted, looking at previous records.

“Since junior workers cannot be recruited in Abuja, they (CBN) were advised to find a way of recruiting locally in the catchment areas. This swelled the number of people recruited,” he said.

Details of the recruitment, first reported by news website, SaharaReporters, angered many Nigerians in a country with a growing rate of unemployment.

Under the Federal Character Commission regulation, 2008, recruitment into government offices are to be duly advertised in at least two national newspapers giving qualified Nigerians a minimum of six weeks to apply.

The CBN recruitment did not follow that rule, Saharareporters reported.

Worse, the list of candidates secretly recruited by the CBN, according to the website, included President Buhari’s nephew, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s daughter, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu’s son, and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Na’aba’s daughter.

Others are Nigeria’s Police Inspector-General, Solomon Arase’s daughter, and Minister of Internal Affairs, Abdulrahman Danbazzau’s son, among others.

CBN’s acting Director of Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor, told PREMIUM TIMES last week the bank did nothing illegal, as it got an approval from the Federal Character Commission to carry out “targeted recruitment of specialists” without advertisement.

The chairman of the FCC, Mr. Abba, said all Nigerians, irrespective of parentage or political affiliation, have equal right of being employed in any organisation. He said his organisation was concerned more with due process and compliance with the federal character principles.

“The constitution says there must be equity, equal opportunity and equal access to all manner of persons. The constitution gives all the states of the federation equal opportunity to be employed,” he said.

“For the fact that you are Atiku’ son; a minister or president’s daughter does not disqualify you from getting job anywhere in Nigeria, so far as you follow due process and you have the requisite qualification.”

Civil society groups and lawyers on Thursday criticized the exercise, ‎demanding the immediate withdrawal of the employment offers.

The Lead Director, Centre for Social Justice, CENSOJ, Eze Onyekpere, said the exercise portrayed the nature of governance in Nigeria, “characterized by hypocrisy, patronage networks, steeped in mediocrity and lacking in merit and strivings for the best person for the job”

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/200852-federal-character-commission-unaware-of-waiver-for-cbn-2015-secret-recruitment.html

http://saharareporters.com/2016/03/26/federal-character-commission-‘unaware’-waiver-cbn-2015-secret-recruitment

http://saharareporters.com/2016/03/26/federal-character-commission-%E2%80%98unaware%E2%80%99-waiver-cbn-2015-secret-recruitment
Cc.Lalasticlala Mynd44 OAM4J

Where are those praising PMB.
APC is just an old wine in a new bottle.
I'll continue to say it APC is the biggest scam in world history
I want to read how APC blinded wailers will justify PMB's nephew's fraudulent appointment.

Never seen a government so confused all my life. The fcc claims to be unaware of the shady recruitment exercise, yet CBN's director of corporate communications insists that they got an approval from the said fcc to carry out the shameful act. I only feel for unemployed zombeeeez who scream 'sai baba' at the top of their voices at every given opportunity. Goodluck to 'mr integrity' and his die hard fans

could there have been any possibility that the president nephew was recruited without the president's consent

Imagine that...

This one strong

Stories like these are reasons why people just give up on Nigeria. People who are elected by the masses would just turn national interests into family affairs

C

Can someone just tell me how Nigeria would ever develop?

Not the biggest scam in the world but for Naija

handsomeclouds:
Where are those praising PMB.
APC is just an old wine in a new bottle.
I'll continue to say it APC is the biggest scam in world history
I want to read how APC blinded wailers will justify PMB's nephew's fraudulent appointment.

Broda, nor be today cbn don dey do secret recruitment. Have you ever heard/seen any cbn job advert before?

Werey cbn odeshi

Ok

This secret employment has been happening since in Nigeria, Buhari and his government promised CHANGE but instead of trying to change things for the better, their joining suit to make things worse

#CBNgate....

CBN should just admit it. Th recruitment was wrong. If they say it was targeted, then how was the selection done? How did they identify the skills and talents they needed without advertising it. If they were headhunted, was it a coincidence that those headhunted were children of the high and mighty? CBN was wrong and someone should account for his/her actions.

APC is a disaster

Okay

Dcomrade:
#CBNgate....

You wan start something?

MKO4ever:
Broda, nor be today cbn don dey do secret recruitment. Have you ever heard/seen any cbn job advert before?

if I say the thing wet dey my mind....hmnnn... Just _fuck off my mentions

Defending this current government is very hectic.....

Majority of the elites and politicians children who got the cbn job through the back yard may not even have the required skill or field of knowledge in the position they are handpicked to occupy.

Our country

I blame b.....

The nigerian economy seems to work with corruption as it's driving force by default..
Fight it. The economy stands still...
Allow it... Money flows down through diffrent levels down to the grassroots.
My thoughts though.

Dharniel:
could there have been any possibility that the president nephew was recruited without the president's consent

Which kinda question b this. I guess its rhetoric

If Na Jonathan time this one happen, Nigeria for don scatter. I have said it before and I will say it again; buhari will leave an evil legacy behind.

Imagine the concorbility.

I nor really understand this APC govt again. Them tell me make I nor vote Ab*ki as President but I nor hear. I go mumu pay transport comot from PH go Delta say I must vote for Buhari. If nor be say I use that opportunity knack my "ex" akpako, na so I for take waste my time and money.


Well, it will not happen again. No jazz fit make me go stand for sun say I wan vote again, even if that kind jazz dey dem never born the jazzman.

MKO4ever:
Broda, nor be today cbn don dey do secret recruitment. Have you ever heard/seen any cbn job advert before?

Admittedly, change is a scam because we are still very much on the old system of doing things. Nothing has really changed for good.

MKO4ever:
Broda, nor be today cbn don dey do secret recruitment. Have you ever heard/seen any cbn job advert before?

Damn!! some said zombeeeeizm is an irredeemable condition, i argued, but i think they're right after all

Jokers everywhere in this pmb govt